First, something light:
Moment Magazine, Rosh Hashanah 5783, Biden Does Rosh Hashanah
"[Second Gentleman Doug] Emhoff, fully embracing his role as the top Jewish member of the Biden administration, entertained the crowd with some classic Jewish one-liners such as: “In my family, Rosh Hashanah meant a trip to my grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn, and I can still smell that brisket cooking—and burning—in the kitchen,” and, “My grandmother begged all of us kids not to jump on the couch because ‘I took the plastic coverings off!’” "
(18) God יהוה said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.”
לא טוב היות האדם לבדו, the purpose of the human species on earth will not be achieved while man who is supposed to reflect the divine image will be left to personally carry out all the menial tasks of daily life on earth by being solitary.
(ד) .... הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר, וְאַל תַּאֲמִין בְּעַצְמְךָ עַד יוֹם מוֹתְךָ, וְאַל תָּדִין אֶת חֲבֵרְךָ עַד שֶׁתַּגִּיעַ לִמְקוֹמוֹ, וְאַל תֹּאמַר דָּבָר שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לִשְׁמֹעַ, שֶׁסּוֹפוֹ לְהִשָּׁמַע. וְאַל תֹּאמַר לִכְשֶׁאִפָּנֶה אֶשְׁנֶה, שֶׁמָּא לֹא תִפָּנֶה:
(4) ... Hillel said: do not separate yourself from the community, Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death, Do not judge your fellow man until you have reached his place. Do not say something that cannot be understood [trusting] that in the end it will be understood. Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure.
- What is "community"? Who defines community?
- What are the benefits of belonging to a community? What are the sacrifices of belonging to a community?
ותניא כל עיר שאין בה עשרה דברים הללו אין תלמיד חכם רשאי לדור בתוכה בית דין מכין ועונשין וקופה של צדקה נגבית בשנים ומתחלקת בשלשה ובית הכנסת ובית המרחץ וביהכ"ס רופא ואומן ולבלר (וטבח) ומלמד תינוקות משום ר' עקיבא אמרו אף מיני פירא מפני שמיני פירא מאירין את העינים:
What constitutes a proper community?
And it is taught in a baraita: A Torah scholar is not permitted to reside in any city that does not have these ten things: A court that has the authority to flog and punish transgressors; and a charity fund for which monies are collected by two people and distributed by three, as required by halakha. This leads to a requirement for another three people in the city. And a synagogue; and a bathhouse; and a public bathroom; a doctor; and a bloodletter; and a scribe [velavlar] to write sacred scrolls and necessary documents; and a ritual slaughterer; and a teacher of young children. With these additional requirements there are a minimum of 120 men who must be residents of the city. They said in the name of Rabbi Akiva: The city must also have varieties of fruit, because varieties of fruit illuminate the eyes.
JewishBoston.com
Judaism is about connections. The 2015 Greater Boston Jewish Community Study shows that if Judaism is to continue to thrive as a culture and as a religion, we must create more paths to connections. While we are all connected on the surface by the Jewish common denominator, what that means to each of us and how we connect to ourselves, to each other and to our communities varies tremendously.
- What is the individual's obligation to the community?
- What is the community's obligation to the individual?
- Is there even such a thing as "the" Jewish community? Who is part of it? Who is not? Who determines these boundaries in the first place?
- What constitutes "separating"? Why is it ill advised?
Rabbi Wendy Cohen, August 2020
In Pirkei Avot, Hillel teaches us, “Do not separate yourself from the community.” Yet here we are in the middle of a pandemic where we are being told to separate ourselves. How do we separate ourselves without really separating ourselves? How do we keep our community together during this unprecedented time? We have choices. We can hide ourselves away in our homes. We can ignore all the warnings and head out into the world. Or…we can find balance. With so much change and uncertainty in our lives, routine and continuity seem to be one solution. We can find ways to continue to be part of a community. We can participate in all that we have at our fingertips. We can study with scholars in Israel. We can pray with family and friends across the country. And we can study and pray together in our own time zone.
- What about community is of value to you?
- Is the answer different after the worst of the Covid 19 pandemic?
- Would anything make you feel more connected to your Jewish community?
- What is important to you in the nature of community? (Study? Social Action? Prayer? Music?)
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, Orot
The relationship between the Jewish people and its individual members is different than the relationship between any other national group and its members. All other national groups only bestow upon their individual members the external aspect of their essence (a title such as American). But the essence itself each person draws from the all-inclusive soul, from the soul of God, without the intermediation of the group... This is not the case regarding Israel. The soul of the individuals is drawn from ... the community, the community bestowing a soul upon the individuals. One who considers severing himself from the people must sever his soul from the source of its vitality. Therefore each individual Jew is greatly in need of the community. He will always offer his life so that he should not be torn from the people, because his soul and self-perfection require that of him. (p. 144)
- Is Rav Kook correct?
- What is your response to him?
- Are Jews different in their relationship to the Jewish community than others are to their community?
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי:
(14) He [Hillel] [also] used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?
2020 Pew Study of American Jews
Section 5 Community and Connectedness
"About three-quarters of Jewish Americans say at least “some” of their close friends are Jewish, including three-in-ten who say all or most of their close friends share their Jewish identity. Orthodox Jews are much more likely than Conservative or Reform Jews to report that all or most of their close friends are Jewish, and Jews who live in the Northeast are somewhat more likely than Jews in other regions to have a friendship circle that consists mostly or entirely of fellow Jews."
"[Additionally], one-third of Jewish adults say that being part of a Jewish community is essential to what being Jewish means to them, and an additional 39% say it is important, though not essential. In the survey (largely completed before the coronavirus pandemic affected daily life across the United States) about half of Jewish Americans say they made a donation to a Jewish cause in the past year. On these measures, too, Jews by religion – and especially Orthodox Jews – are notably more engaged in Jewish communities and causes than are Jews of no religion. For example, 61% of Jews by religion (including 88% of Orthodox Jews) said they made a donation to a Jewish charity in the year prior to taking the survey, compared with about one-in-ten Jews of no religion (11%)."
"The vast majority of U.S. Jews say they feel either “a great deal” (48%) or “some” (37%) sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Jews by religion are far more likely than Jews of no religion to say they feel a great deal of belonging to the Jewish people (61% vs. 13%)."
- Do you connect better with Jews than others?
- Do you do anything conscious to increase connectedness between Jews?